Special Issue "Health and Welfare of Working Donkeys and Mules"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Small Ruminants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. João B. Rodrigues
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research and Operational Support Department, The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 0NU, UK
Interests: working equids; animal welfare; equid dentistry; harness; animal traction
Dr. Fiona Cooke
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research and Operational Support Department, The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 0NU, UK
Interests: animal welfare; animal behaviour; working equids; human-animal relationships; animal protection law and policy
Dr. Rebekah Sullivan
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Veterinary and Research and Operational Support Department, The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 0NU, UK
Interests: working equids; one health; contribution of working equids to human health and livelihood; animal welfare; equine medicine and surgery
Dr. Eduardo Santurtun
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Latin America and the Caribbean Office, The Donkey Sanctuary, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
Interests: animal welfare; working equids; animal behaviour; disaster relief; sustainability
Dr. Tamara Tadich
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Ciencia Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia 5090000, Chile
Interests: animal welfare; working equids; applied behaviour

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Working donkeys and mules have a fundamental role in strengthening human livelihoods and improving the resilience capacity of communities, through their contribution to economic, environmental, and social capital. They facilitate access to vital resources including water and health care. Furthermore, their use in traction, cargo and transportation can be regarded as a significant clean and renewable energy resource, providing a wider, systemic contribution to the sustainability of agroforestry-based economies in a wide variety of ecosystems, such as the mountain areas.

Despite these multiple roles, these animals are largely disregarded, predominantly ignored by decision and policy-makers, and seemingly by the scientific community, given the minimal number of peer-reviewed publications focused on health and welfare of working donkeys and mules, especially when compared with research focused on other type of equids.

New studies and findings focused on the health, welfare and population dynamics of working donkeys and mules will undoubtedly impact positively on the future of these animals, cementing their contribution to human health and livelihood. Therefore the aim of this Special Issue is to gather in one publication the most recent advances in this field. Contribution of research papers, literature reviews, and case reports are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. João B. Rodrigues
Dr. Fiona Cooke
Dr. Rebekah Sullivan
Dr. Eduardo Santurtun
Dr. Tamara Tadich
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • working donkeys
  • equid welfare
  • working mules
  • harness
  • animal traction
  • one health

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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